UNLV ATHLETICS ANNOUNCES JOINT INTERNSHIP PROGRAM WITH THE VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Two-year internship program will see UNLV students serve in the UNLV Athletic Department before spending year two with the Golden Knights
UNLV Director of Athletics Tina Kunzer-Murphy and the Vegas Golden Knights announced on Tuesday a joint internship program with the goal of supporting the development of UNLV undergraduate students interested in pursuing a career in collegiate or professional sports.
“This is a great opportunity to bring UNLV Athletics and the Vegas Golden Knights together to provide a wonderful opportunity for our UNLV students,” said Kunzer-Murphy. “Our students will have the chance to work for two great athletic organizations and this wouldn’t be possible without the efforts of Darryl (Seibel) and Nehme (Abouzeid) in making this program a reality.”
The internship program, which will see UNLV students spend a year in the Rebel Athletic Department before moving over to the Golden Knights for year two, is the brainchild of UNLV Deputy Director of Athletics Darryl Seibel and Nehme Abouzeid, Golden Knights Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer.
“We are delighted to partner with the Vegas Golden Knights in creating this unique professional development opportunity for students who are considering a career in sport management, marketing or communications,” said Seibel. “This partnership will allow students to gain practical, hands-on experience working first with our programs at UNLV Athletics, before gaining a different set of skills and experience working with a professional sports franchise. Students who complete this rigorous two-year program should have a significant advantage when they begin pursuing full-time career opportunities in sports.
“From Day One, the leadership of the Golden Knights has stressed the importance of engaging with our community, and I’d like to thank Nehme Abouzeid and his team for their spirit of partnership and sharing our commitment to the importance of education.”
“We are extremely proud to partner with UNLV on this innovative internship program,” said Abouzeid. “Students will be provided with meaningful, hands-on experience that will be invaluable in their professional growth. They will have the opportunity to work across a variety of the Vegas Golden Knights business units – including marketing, communications, sales and corporate partnerships – and will be mentored by our experienced and dedicated staff. Supplemented with their coursework in the classroom, we believe this program will accelerate the development of tomorrow’s leaders in the sports industry.”
The internship program, developed with the help of Stowe Shoemaker, Dean of the Harrah Hotel College Program at UNLV, will take students into the UNLV Athletic Marketing and Athletic Communications offices for a one-year period. There, they will learn the day-to-day operations of those respective offices while also working specifically with assigned sports and assisting at home athletic contests. The goal is for the students in the internship program to learn how to successfully market a collegiate athletic program and manage game presentations on the marketing side, or to develop public relations skills in while assisting in the handling of a collegiate athletic team from the communications side. Future areas of the UNLV Athletic Department, including potentially the ticketing office and others, are expected to also be a part of the internship program.
Following the completion of the first year, selected successful candidates will then move on to the Golden Knights to work with the Marketing, Communications and Content Departments. This will allow the students to gain first-hand experience with a professional sports team, and they will be involved in all aspects of their respective departments.
Any UNLV students currently interested in the program can reach out to either Meghan Cordeiro (UNLV Athletic Marketing) at [email protected], or Mark Wasik (UNLV Athletic Communications) at [email protected], while a full description of the program is also available online at UNLVRebels.com.